CHACARRA MOVES INTO SOLE LEAD OVER NAKAJIMA AND STONE AFTER ROUND 3 AT HERO INDIAN OPEN
AJEETESH SANDHU IS THE TOP INDIAN AT TIED-15TH
25-year-old Spaniard Eugenio Chacarra grinded his way to a 1-over 73 to take a one-shot lead over defending champion Japan’s Keita Nakajima (74) and South African Brandon Stone (71) after the third round of the 2025 Hero Indian Open.
Two others, England’s Matthew Jordan (73) and Sweden’s Jens Dantorp (73) were another shot behind at 1-under for three days.
The top Indian was Ajeetesh Sandhu, who had two birdies in last four holes, that included the 18th, for a 74 and a 4-over total. He was at the Tied-15th place, moving ten places up from his overnight Tied-25th.
Sandhu was even par for the front nine, but what did him in were three bogeys in five holes between the 10th and the 14th but he did well to pick two birdies against one bogey in the last four holes.
Veer Ahlawat (74) at 5-over is T-18th. Ahlawat had two birdies, including one on the 18th against two bogeys and a double bogey that came on the Par-5 eighth hole.
It was a disastrous and unfortunate finish for Gaganjeet Bhullar (78), who closed bogey-bogey-triple bogey, dropping five shots over the last three holes. He plummeted from a Top-10 position to Tied-33rd due to this torrid run.
As Indians look for a Top-10 finish on the final day, the action at the summit of the leaderboard promises to be an interesting tussle. If Chacarra wins, it will be his first DP World Tour title, while Nakajima will become only the fourth player ever to have win back-to-back titles at the Hero Indian Open. The first was another Japanese, Kenji Hosoishi in 1967 and 1968 and the next was India’s Jyoti Randhawa in 2006 and 2007. The latest was SSP Chawrasia (2016 and 2017), who missed the halfway cut this year.
Brandon Stone has not had a win against his name since his third DPWT title in 2018 in Scotland while the fourth placed duo of Dantorp and Jordan have not won before on the DPWT.
On the third day, which is traditionally called the moving day, players seemed to be moving backwards on a challenging course. There were no bogey free rounds; only five players were under par for 54 holes and only three players played under par for the day while no one was able to break 70 today.
It was a great test of golf and at the end of it, the overnight co-leaders held on to take their battle into the fourth and final day with five players within two shots of the lead held by Chacarra.
The Spaniard started the third day tied at the top alongside Nakajima at four under par but his two bogeys on the front nine pushed him two shots off the lead at the turn.
Meanwhile, Nakajima’s run of 14 successive pars on Day 3 finally came to an end with a bogey on the 15th. Chacarra made a birdie at the same hole to grab a share of the lead. When Nakajima failed to save par at the difficult 17th, Chacarra found himself in the lead.
Chacarra opted to go for the 18th green in two but found a tough lie in the rough and had to settle for a closing par and a one-shot lead over closest challengers Stone and Nakajima.
Stone picked a birdie on the last to card 71, the joint-lowest round of the day, while Nakajima had two bogeys and no birdies in his 74.
Chacarra said, “I knew when I was teeing off how the conditions were going. It was windy. It was probably the most windy day we had out there. So I knew I needed a lot of patience today. I think I played great. My ball striking was incredible, like it’s been all week. So that was nice.
“I think I left some shots in the front. I guess I’ve not been in competition too much this year. I only had two tournaments and I’ve not been playing too much. So I feel like I tried too hard – like that eagle putt on eighth from 20 feet.”
“Within this course, you have a lot of chances to make birdie or hit it close. So those mistakes, I think I need to learn from them for tomorrow. But, I’m very pleased with this score. I think it was plain tough. This course, we know what it is. I mean, it’s just one bad swing of a big number. So I’m pleased with myself, but it’s just time to reset, talk to my team and see what we can do better for tomorrow.”
Nakajima was fine despite not making any birdies, as he said, “I made it a no-stress day. That I made 16 pars, that’s good for this golf course. So my caddy told me to be patient before every shot. That was great.”
On playing defensively, he added, “Yes, I think this is the toughest golf course this year. So my thinking was to be stress-free, just hold the line.
“I don’t feel like there was pressure. Just have fun playing the golf course and also definitely stay patient”, added Nakajima.
